Marble Bar just had four consecutive days over 45ºC and temperatures could get even hotter in the north of WA this weekend.

An intensely hot air mass is building over northwestern Australia this week thanks to clear skies and some of the longest daylight hours of the year (the summer solstice is only two weeks away).

These conditions are allowing temperatures to soar over the northern inland of WA, where an Extreme heatwave is currently underway.

The inland Pilbara town of Marble Bar has exceeded 45ºC on each of the last four days, getting as high as 46.2ºC on Wednesday. This was the highest temperature seen anywhere in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere so far this season.

Image: Observed temperatures in Marble Bar, WA between Sunday, November 4 and Wednesday, November 8.

The intense early summer heat has also started to spread further east over the last couple of days, kicking off a broad and lengthy Severe to Extreme heatwave across northern Australia.

On Wednesday, Birdsville in Qld reached 45.6ºC and Jervois in the NT hit 44.9ºC. This was Qld’s first 45ºC of the season.

Forecast models suggest that this intensely hot weather will linger over northern Australia for the rest of this week and into early next week.

Images: Forecast maximum surface air temperature during each of the next four days, according to the ECMWF-HRES model.

The hottest temperatures in the coming days are likely to occur over northwestern Australia, where maximums could approach 47 to 48ºC in the west Kimberley and Pilbara regions on Sunday and Monday.

While the most intense heat will stay over northern Australia in the coming days, a tongue of hot air will briefly escape the tropics and spread over SA this the weekend. Some central and southern districts of SA could experience Extreme to Catastrophic fire danger ratings when this heat peaks on Saturday.

Be sure to check the latest heatwave and fire weather warnings over the next several days if you live in SA, WA, the NT or Qld.